Eman

⭐⭐⭐

🇪🇸 Spanish / 📍 Shirakawa

📓 Visits: 1

Dinner of about 11 courses is priced at JPY 13,000 while (my visit) lunch of about 8 courses is priced at JPY 6,500.

The best dish in the course was the dessert - melon soup, olive oil ice-cream, bergamot jelly - a refreshing and perfectly balanced combination of sweet, salt and acid.  The second best dish was probably the warm pork and rabbit rillettes.  This was almost like a North African dish with its flavouring of cumin and cinnamon.  The main dish of grilled pork collar was also delicious.  The other dishes were a squeeze of lime, a pinch of salt or a twist of pepper away from distinction.  The ham was Serrano ham, which is inferior to Iberico ham, and the quality of ingredients was also shown up with the gazpacho, the ayu and nasu puree dish.  Tea or coffee (not pictured) was included.

A terse menu is in a mix of Japanese and Spanish.  The chef doesn't talk but service from the wait staff was enthusiastic, albeit all in Japanese.  It's a simultaneous start and even though no-one was late it was 20 minutes wait until the first item was served.  After my visit I read the chef had worked at 2-star Akordu and, more impressively, the World class Azurmendi near Bilbao.  Given the decent Tabelog rating (3.75) for a restaurant open just a year and a half and difficulty booking, my expectations were already quite high.  If I'd known the chef had been at Azurmendi they would have been higher.

The meal included two small pieces of bread, the tortilla and paella, of which you could have a refill.  So there were more than enough carbs and I was full.  At JPY 6,500 it's a bargain for 8 dishes and you can't expect the best quality ingredients at this price.  But I was hoping for better cooking so did not book agin.

📌 https://tabelog.com/tokyo/A1313/A131303/13266919/

❓ My Rating: ⭐⭐⭐ 3.9 (cooking 3.75, value: 4.5)

📱 Booking: 🟥 Ostensibly they take bookings up to one month in advance via TableCheck and up to two months via Teriyaki, but they were full till October in my July visit so in practice you'll need to wait for a cancellation.  Online bookings for solo diners are not taken so you'll need to phone.

📍 Location: 

1-3-6 Shirakawa.  From the stairs of the A3 Exit of Kiyosumi Shirakawa station turn back on yourself and walk down the alley or from the lift of the A3 Exit turn left and walk to the end of the alley.  Restaurant is across the street on the right.  Dedicated street-facing entrance.
Map data ©2023 Google

📅 Visit July 2023

12:20 Tomato and watermelon gazpacho, edamame
12:26 Serrano ham, fried fig bread
12:31 Pork, rabbit rillettes
12:45 Ayu, nasu puree, cucumber
13:01 Tortilla
13:16 Pork catarosu, togarashi
13:33 Seafood paella
13:54 Melon soup, olive oli ice-cream, bergamot jelly

💴 Damage: 10,350 (6500 + drinks @ 3850)
⏱️ Time taken: 2h10m